DAT Breakdown August 2014 (24 AA/25 TS)

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simplydds

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First, all Glory to God.

Now the scores:
PAT: 20 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
QR: 24
RC: 23
Bio: 25 :love:
GC: 28 :soexcited:
OC: 22
TS: 25 :biglove:
AA: 24


So my background, I just finished my first year at top 20 university. I took Gen Chem during the whole year and Orgo I during the spring semester. I AP-ed out of biology, so the last time I took biology was 4 years ago, freshman year of high school. I didn't take Orgo II or Biology in college, which just goes to show, if you study the right things, you can do it.

I studied for about a month, but I also had a 5 day vacation, church retreat, and various functions.
I started reviewing a bit of biology (read through my old Princeton Review AP Bio book) before the month though. During the month I studied with:

DAT Destroyer (9/10)
MATH Destroyer (10/10)
Ferallis Notes (11/10)
KBB Biology (6/10)
CHAD Videos/Quizzes (9/10)

Biology (25)
As I've said, it's been a while since I took biology. Reading over an AP book gave me a good overview before I started practice tests. I only went through DAT Destroyer Biology once, but I took notes over everything I didn't fully know or understand in all the answer choices and answer key. That definitely helped. Feralis notes. Oh my goodness, I cannot speak well enough about these notes. I read over them twice. It takes forever, but it really is an awesome set of notes. I finished reading the second time about 5 days before my test and didn't touch it afterwards.

General Chemistry (28)
I just finished a full year of gen chem at a good university. But the highest I was getting on practice tests was like a 22... So I'm ecstatic about a 28. This is crazy. It was definitely easier than I thought it was going to be. The calculations were easier than what I practiced with. I went through DAT Destroyer General Chemistry once. I also used the Chad Quizzes to make sure I knew the topics. I was done with Gen Chem, so I didn't watch the videos unless I had no idea. I watched like two Chad Videos.

Organic Chemistry (22)
To be completely honest, I am so thankful for this score. I was getting 18's on practice tests up until the last ones I took (3-4 days before my real test). This section was easier than I expected. I went through Chad Videos twice and took notes both times. The first set of notes were just so I could pay attention. The second set were the good set of notes I used to review later. I also reviewed all of the Organic Chemistry Chad Quizzes the day before my test. It really helped.

PAT (20)
I don't have any advice. I got 19's and 20's on most of my practice tests on Kaplan, which is way easier than the real thing. I only used Kaplan and... I really didn't care for this part of the test. The schools I want to attend don't really focus on PAT, so I didn't spend much time on it (I actually never reviewed the questions I missed on my practice tests... y'all probably should).

Reading Comprehension (23)
I guess I did a version of Search and Destroy. I'm a fast reader, so I skimmed through it and just answered the easy questions. I just got lucky. Two of my passages were 13 paragraphs and the other was 7. I didn't practice this section besides the practice tests I took.

Qualitative Reasoning (24)
To be honest, I was hoping to do a bit better. I got mostly 24's on my practice tests and Math Destroyer. I went through the first four tests of Math Destroyer once. I didn't really practice this section.

Test Scores:

Kaplan Full Lengths
Test (Workshop)/Test 1/Test 2/Test 3/Test 4/Test 5
Biology: 15/16/15/15/19/18
GC: 17/19/21/18/20/19
OC: 17/12/16/16/18/21
RC: 17/20/20/20/22/22
QR: 19/21/24/24/24/23
PAT: 17/17/19/19/20/20
TS: 16/16/17/16/19/19
AA: 17/18/19/19/21/21

DAT QVault (free)
Biology Test 1: 20
GC Test 1: 22
OC Test 1: 21

Bootcamp (free tests, 4 days before DAT)
Biology: 24
GC: 22
OC: 18

2009 ADA (3 days before DAT)
Bio/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR/TS/AA
20/22/18/20/20/17/20/19

Needless to say, I am extremely happy with my scores and oh so glad I don't have to retake my DAT.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

(PS. I'm also selling both DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer with the paper 2009 ADA Test! All are in mint condition and have absolutely no markings! Message me!)

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Those are amazing scores considering that you just finished your first year of college.

Be aware that most schools won't accept scores that are more than 2-3 years old, which means you will need to apply no later than the end of your junior year. Were you thinking of getting into dental school without earning a BA or BS degree?
 
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customx said:
Those are amazing scores considering that you just finished your first year of college.

Be aware that most schools won't accept scores that are more than 2-3 years old, which means you will need to apply no later than the end of your junior year. Were you thinking of getting into dental school without earning a BA or BS degree?
Click to expand...

Thank you!
It's potentially a possibility. I'm thinking about applying after this next school year--contingent on finishing the pre req's.
But if I don't apply then, I will definitely be applying after my junior year. I also thought that DAT scores were valid for 5 years after you take it....
 
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Each school varies, but from what I remember in the ADEA guide, most schools only use scores from the last 2-3 years. With scores like that you don't want to have to take the exam again, so best to research a bit
 
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customx said:
Each school varies, but from what I remember in the ADEA guide, most schools only use scores from the last 2-3 years. With scores like that you don't want to have to take the exam again, so best to research a bit
Click to expand...

thank you for the information!
It seems that the schools I'm applying to don't mind ALL that much but I will definitely be talking to my predent advisor and then calling/emailing the schools in a bit.
I really appreciated it!
 
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Congrats. I have a question for all of you. I am reading AP biology third edition. I think that it has many details for each concept. I would like to know if I have to memorize all the names and know all the details of everything.
 
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Mary1984 said:
Congrats. I have a question for all of you. I am reading AP biology third edition. I think that it has many details for each concept. I would like to know if I have to memorize all the names and know all the details of everything.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
Well... If you're talking about Cliff's... I didn't use that. The AP biology book I had was Princeton Review 2010
But... hmm Feralis Notes seriously have everything. I don't think there was a thing that I hadn't once read.
 
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simplydds said:
Thank you!
Well... If you're talking about Cliff's... I didn't use that. The AP biology book I had was Princeton Review 2010
But... hmm Feralis Notes seriously have everything. I don't think there was a thing that I hadn't once read.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your response. I started reading Cliff's AP Biology because pretty much everybody who posts in sdn and talks about biology part of DAT says that Cliff's is the best.
Do you think I can get everything from Feralis notes since I am an engineer and I never had any biology courses except one in high school?
 
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Mary1984 said:
Thanks for your response. I started reading Cliff's AP Biology because pretty much everybody who posts in sdn and talks about biology part of DAT says that Cliff's is the best.
Do you think I can get everything from Feralis notes since I am an engineer and I never had any biology courses except one in high school?
Click to expand...

Oh very much so!
For me, feralis worked.
In my background, I mentioned that it's been 4 years since I've taken biology. I haven't taken a single biology course in college yet.
Also, I was an engineering major my first year so I understand where you're coming from.

I think feralis is systematic, well organized, and detailed. You don't need to remember everything, but I would rather have seen the word once rather than study something else and not know such word.

I also read through KBB and tried to take notes over it. Stopped taking notes 1/3 of the way because it was too time consuming.
 
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Yes praise unto the lord, but as of now praise unto Chad the Patron Saint of Science and the 99th percentile.

How did you find the actual DAT bio questions compared to the Kaplan bio questions?
 
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FancyFloss said:
Yes praise unto the lord, but as of now praise unto Chad the Patron Saint of Science and the 99th percentile.

How did you find the actual DAT bio questions compared to the Kaplan bio questions?
Click to expand...

lol well first, I didn't use Chad for gen chem... but he was pretty good for orgo. Possibly the best resource out there for chemistry but I wouldn't say that it's perfect haha

and it was NOT as detailed as Kaplan. I found that the questions were random, as I'm sure you know, but many were pretty easy. If you do all five Kaplan tests and DAT Destroyer and learn from your mistakes and tediously take notes over things you don't know, you will find that it isn't as bad.
I've definitely recognized questions as I was going through the bio section.
 
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Hey. No problem. You deserved it. You provided everyone on this forum with a great set of details. What school is your top choice?
 
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biomolecmed said:
Hey. No problem. You deserved it. You provided everyone on this forum with a great set of details. What school is your top choice?
Click to expand...

I know this is a super late reply! I apologize!

I'm actually looking into the Texas Schools--specifically Houston and Baylor (Dallas)
 
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Texas school's are great. You might want to check out schools in Neighboring states: Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma , Arkanasas.
 
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